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Hugo Winning Author's Masterwork of Alien Invasion! Orejas de ellos, the things who listen, whispered the superstitious fishermen when the strange occurrences began off the Philippine coast. How else could you explain the sudden disappearance of a vessel beneath a mysterious curtain of foam? The writhings of thousands of maddened fish trapped in a coffin-like area of ocean? An alien intelligence gorged at the bottom of the Luzon Deep and made its plans. Radar expert Terry Holt and the crew of the Experance had to devise a weapon against the horrifying creatures which threatened mankind with extinction. Here are terror, excitement, and the clutch of cold death as combined by a master hand in the field of science-fiction. The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction hails Murray Leinster as a writer who earned his fame from "protagonists capable of heroic action in a future dominated by technology as humanity reaches for the stars. For more than half a century his stories shaped the field."
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1961
8 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Murray Leinster
901 books121 followerssee also:
Will F. Jenkins
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history. He wrote and published over 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
An author whose career spanned the first six decades of the 20th Century. From mystery and adventure stories in the earliest years to science fiction in his later years, he worked steadily and at a highly professional level of craftsmanship longer than most writers of his generation. He won a Hugo Award in 1956 for his novelet “Exploration Team,” and in 1995 the Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his classic story, “Sidewise in Time.” His last original work appeared in 1967.
Will F. Jenkins
William Fitzgerald Jenkins
Murray Leinster was a nom de plume of William Fitzgerald Jenkins, an award-winning American writer of science fiction and alternate history. He wrote and published over 1,500 short stories and articles, 14 movie scripts, and hundreds of radio scripts and television plays.
An author whose career spanned the first six decades of the 20th Century. From mystery and adventure stories in the earliest years to science fiction in his later years, he worked steadily and at a highly professional level of craftsmanship longer than most writers of his generation. He won a Hugo Award in 1956 for his novelet “Exploration Team,” and in 1995 the Sidewise Award for Alternate History took its name from his classic story, “Sidewise in Time.” His last original work appeared in 1967.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 20, 2018
A good SF yarn based on an old local legend about creatures in the sea. There was a romantic thread that was far better done than is usual in this sort of story. The lovers had plenty of contact & time to come to their conclusions about each other rather than the instant variety. The story likewise built up well & came to a good conclusion. There were some dated elements, but not too bad. Very well narrated by Mark Nelson, too.
November 11, 2020
ENGLISH: Interesting sci-fi novel that reminds the structure of a mystery novel, as the protagonist finds himself in the middle of a set of puzzles and enigmas, is bothered because those around him do not give him information, and has to discover the facts by himself. Finally he comes to the conclusion that the reason why they looked mysterious was because they did not have an answer to the problem and did not trust their own ideas about the solution.
The novel contains outdated scientific material, such as the assertion that Venus is an oceanic planet, typical when it was written, but currently abandoned.
ESPAÑOL: Interesante novela de ciencia ficción cuya estructura recuerda la de una novela de misterio, ya que el protagonista se encuentra rodeado por acertijos y enigmas, su investigación está dificultada porque quienes lo rodean no le dan información, y tiene que descubrir los hechos por sí mismo. Finalmente llega a la conclusión de que la razón por la que parecían actuar de forma misteriosa era porque no tenían respuesta para el problema y no confiaban en sus propias ideas sobre la solución.
La novela contiene material científico obsoleto, como la afirmación de que Venus es un planeta oceánico, típica cuando se escribió, pero actualmente abandonada.
The novel contains outdated scientific material, such as the assertion that Venus is an oceanic planet, typical when it was written, but currently abandoned.
ESPAÑOL: Interesante novela de ciencia ficción cuya estructura recuerda la de una novela de misterio, ya que el protagonista se encuentra rodeado por acertijos y enigmas, su investigación está dificultada porque quienes lo rodean no le dan información, y tiene que descubrir los hechos por sí mismo. Finalmente llega a la conclusión de que la razón por la que parecían actuar de forma misteriosa era porque no tenían respuesta para el problema y no confiaban en sus propias ideas sobre la solución.
La novela contiene material científico obsoleto, como la afirmación de que Venus es un planeta oceánico, típica cuando se escribió, pero actualmente abandonada.
May 18, 2021
Ora ne ho una io. L'abbiamo sentita arrivare per cinque minuti e dieci secondi. Quanto è profonda l'acqua, là dove eravamo?»
«Più di ottomila metri.»
«Se supponiamo che risalisse dal fondale, deve aver viaggiato per un'ora a cento chilometri all'ora quando è arrivata in superficie» calcolò Terry.
«Ma una balena può nuotare a cento chilometri all'ora?» insistette Tony.
«No» ribatté Terry.
In seguito al verificarsi di strani fenomeni nella Fossa di Manila, al largo delle Filippine, l'esperto di onde elettromagnetiche e sonar Terry Holt viene reclutato da alcuni scienziati per risolvere un mistero all'apparenza inspiegabile.
Essendo andato per tre estati di seguito nelle Filippine, paese dove mi sono sposato e che ho sempre nel cuore, mi è piaciuta molto l'ambientazione di questo racconto, un classico della fantascienza avventurosa anni 60 con tutti i cliché del genere: eroi inventori, belle donne e creature mostruose.
Non è invecchiato proprio benissimo secondo me, ma resta una lettura scorrevole ed a tratti avvincente.
«Più di ottomila metri.»
«Se supponiamo che risalisse dal fondale, deve aver viaggiato per un'ora a cento chilometri all'ora quando è arrivata in superficie» calcolò Terry.
«Ma una balena può nuotare a cento chilometri all'ora?» insistette Tony.
«No» ribatté Terry.
In seguito al verificarsi di strani fenomeni nella Fossa di Manila, al largo delle Filippine, l'esperto di onde elettromagnetiche e sonar Terry Holt viene reclutato da alcuni scienziati per risolvere un mistero all'apparenza inspiegabile.
Essendo andato per tre estati di seguito nelle Filippine, paese dove mi sono sposato e che ho sempre nel cuore, mi è piaciuta molto l'ambientazione di questo racconto, un classico della fantascienza avventurosa anni 60 con tutti i cliché del genere: eroi inventori, belle donne e creature mostruose.
Non è invecchiato proprio benissimo secondo me, ma resta una lettura scorrevole ed a tratti avvincente.
July 2, 2020
I listened to the LibriVox free audio version, narrated by the wonderful Mark Douglas Nelson.
Radar expert and electronic engineer Terry Holt has been recruited by a scientific expedition in the Phillipines to make underwater listening devices. They won't tell him what his inventions are meant to investigate. And that makes him mad.
He has some ideas though. Orejas de ellos, the things who listen, have been the explanation by fishermen about strange catches of fish. Are they real or just superstition? What are the mysterious shooting stars that seem to fall with such frequency into the Luzon Deep? Why do mysterious swarms of fish gather in one specific area of the ocean?
Had Leinster been reading Jules Verne? Had he been reading H.G. Wells? Or is this a completely new creation? Those are the questions I repeatedly asked as I vacillated between three different theories about the mysterious "fish herding" and who is doing it. As Leinster always does, I was glued to this adventure story investigating what comes from the abyss, which may be deadly, especially to those who are set on discovering the truth. I will disclose only this ... I was very surprised by the end of the story. Bravo, Murray Leinster.
Radar expert and electronic engineer Terry Holt has been recruited by a scientific expedition in the Phillipines to make underwater listening devices. They won't tell him what his inventions are meant to investigate. And that makes him mad.
He has some ideas though. Orejas de ellos, the things who listen, have been the explanation by fishermen about strange catches of fish. Are they real or just superstition? What are the mysterious shooting stars that seem to fall with such frequency into the Luzon Deep? Why do mysterious swarms of fish gather in one specific area of the ocean?
Had Leinster been reading Jules Verne? Had he been reading H.G. Wells? Or is this a completely new creation? Those are the questions I repeatedly asked as I vacillated between three different theories about the mysterious "fish herding" and who is doing it. As Leinster always does, I was glued to this adventure story investigating what comes from the abyss, which may be deadly, especially to those who are set on discovering the truth. I will disclose only this ... I was very surprised by the end of the story. Bravo, Murray Leinster.
November 14, 2014
I read the paperback version of this novel a million years ago and didn't have much memory of it other than thinking it was pretty good. Leinster was one of my favorites when I was young, especially his Med Service stories and the Joe Kenmore trilogy. I have just finished listening to the Librivox audio version, which is a very capably and professionally performed reading. It's an undersea adventure, Pacific Rim without the kaiju and robots if you will, very entertaining and a lot of fun.
August 25, 2021
Downloaded from Gutenberg. An extremely slow-moving story. I suspect the author fell asleep while writing it. The big reveal doesn't come until the final chapter. Before that, it's a bunch of people going 'I have a theory but I don't dare say it.' No real action. No real romance. The ideas are plausible. The problem is they aren't interesting. Leinster can be a good writer when he wants to be. This wasn't one of those times.
August 10, 2013
A well done story. There are a couple of dated references to equipment used but the tale has held up very well over time. The character are believable and their interactions are smooth. The plot has a more plausibility to it then many other science ficton I have read. Mark Nelson's narration as always is professional and easy to listen to.
July 10, 2013
I haven't listened to a lot of older science fiction stories, but when I noticed that audiobook reader Mark Nelson (a personal favorite reader) had read this story, I decided to spend a few minutes listening to his librivox reading at Archive.org, my interest was perked by those first few minutes of conversation between Terry and Deirdre in their first meeting.
GIST
After being left holding the bag after his business partner leaves him to deal with the knock-on affect of fitting some new technology onto a more successful fishing vessel, radar and electrical engineer is approached by a young woman offering him some quick vacation cash in exchange for making a fish-driving paddle. Initial suspicion and angst leads to rampant curiosity when he learns the purpose for it. As he begins to piece together the mystery, he and the volunteer crew discover that there is more to the situation than a simple squabble over fishing - a danger that lurks in the bottom of the Luzon Deep.
THOUGHTS
I love the textual narrative of this story, one that Mark Nelson does justice to. Told primarily through the eyes of Terry Holt, the readers get to learn tidbits of information in a rather timely fashion. The descriptive is awesome as well, though highly recognizable as old-school with terms such as "presently" which are common before the 1970's.
The characterization and dialogue was worthy, adding to the tension as the mystery unraveled. The romance between Terry and Deirdre plays out subtly enough to not overshadow the main plot. And it works well because of it. The pacing was spot-on as well. No ninjas? No problem as this story has giant squid and other monsters.
CONCLUSION
Yes, I did adore this story. Any story featuring sea monsters is a winner, with the addition of aliens doing alien things even better. The first contact scenario forced the humans to adapt to the odd situation which gave a solid purpose for the crew after they come to certain conclusions about what they are facing. It was a great introduction to Murray Leinster's writing and I highly recommend folks giving it a listen and/or read.
GIST
After being left holding the bag after his business partner leaves him to deal with the knock-on affect of fitting some new technology onto a more successful fishing vessel, radar and electrical engineer is approached by a young woman offering him some quick vacation cash in exchange for making a fish-driving paddle. Initial suspicion and angst leads to rampant curiosity when he learns the purpose for it. As he begins to piece together the mystery, he and the volunteer crew discover that there is more to the situation than a simple squabble over fishing - a danger that lurks in the bottom of the Luzon Deep.
THOUGHTS
I love the textual narrative of this story, one that Mark Nelson does justice to. Told primarily through the eyes of Terry Holt, the readers get to learn tidbits of information in a rather timely fashion. The descriptive is awesome as well, though highly recognizable as old-school with terms such as "presently" which are common before the 1970's.
The characterization and dialogue was worthy, adding to the tension as the mystery unraveled. The romance between Terry and Deirdre plays out subtly enough to not overshadow the main plot. And it works well because of it. The pacing was spot-on as well. No ninjas? No problem as this story has giant squid and other monsters.
CONCLUSION
Yes, I did adore this story. Any story featuring sea monsters is a winner, with the addition of aliens doing alien things even better. The first contact scenario forced the humans to adapt to the odd situation which gave a solid purpose for the crew after they come to certain conclusions about what they are facing. It was a great introduction to Murray Leinster's writing and I highly recommend folks giving it a listen and/or read.
May 5, 2017
Spy fish from the deep equipped with mechanical recording devices, asteroids landing in the same spot of the China Sea, a huge, whale-like abomination from 27,000 feet...
Leinster takes a regional fisherman's myth about las orejas de ellos ('they' who listen) and some science extrapolated from the use of soundwaves underwater to craft a modest sci-fi adventure yarn.
The elements listed above should have led to some thrills. Flat, lifeless characters and a thin plot stretched beyond the point of interest to its eventual extraterrestrial conclusions soon put paid to that.
The scientists spent the entire story speaking about the need to be cautious in the face of the incredible, resisting the temptation to state any theories even as the evidence mounted, only to end up in an orgy of speculation because the poor plot resolution demanded it.
Las bostezo de ellos.
Leinster takes a regional fisherman's myth about las orejas de ellos ('they' who listen) and some science extrapolated from the use of soundwaves underwater to craft a modest sci-fi adventure yarn.
The elements listed above should have led to some thrills. Flat, lifeless characters and a thin plot stretched beyond the point of interest to its eventual extraterrestrial conclusions soon put paid to that.
The scientists spent the entire story speaking about the need to be cautious in the face of the incredible, resisting the temptation to state any theories even as the evidence mounted, only to end up in an orgy of speculation because the poor plot resolution demanded it.
Las bostezo de ellos.
July 26, 2020
Nel complesso un buon romanzo, anche se forse invecchiato non proprio bene.
Punti di forza l'ambientazione nelle Filippine e nel mar cinese meridionale, nonché alcune idee sulla presenza aliena. Punti deboli, a parte una certa stereotipicità dei personaggi principali, che comunque non è spinta troppo oltre (a parte la ragazza) la mancanza completa dell'idea di tentare una comunicazione di qualche tipo con queste entità.
Mi è piaciuta anche la parte scientifica, anche se parliamo di tecnologie antiche per gli standard moderni.
Lo stile di Leinster è di veloce lettura e abbastanza avvincente, tende a tenerti incollato, perché costruisce bene il mistero, a mio parere.
3 stelle.
Punti di forza l'ambientazione nelle Filippine e nel mar cinese meridionale, nonché alcune idee sulla presenza aliena. Punti deboli, a parte una certa stereotipicità dei personaggi principali, che comunque non è spinta troppo oltre (a parte la ragazza) la mancanza completa dell'idea di tentare una comunicazione di qualche tipo con queste entità.
Mi è piaciuta anche la parte scientifica, anche se parliamo di tecnologie antiche per gli standard moderni.
Lo stile di Leinster è di veloce lettura e abbastanza avvincente, tende a tenerti incollato, perché costruisce bene il mistero, a mio parere.
3 stelle.
November 19, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. A good old fashion sci fi story about aliens on Earth. Easy read and not too complicated. Just good, fun reading. 👍🏻
April 23, 2020
Orejas de ellos, the things who listen, whispered the superstitious fishermen when the strange occurrences began off the Philippine coast. How else could you explain the sudden disappearance of a vessel beneath a mysterious curtain of foam? The writhings of thousands of maddened fish trapped in a coffin-like area of ocean? An alien intelligence gorged at the bottom of the Luzon Deep and made its plans. Radar expert Terry Holt and the crew of the Experance had to devise a weapon against the horrifying creatures which threatened mankind with extinction. Here are terror, excitement, and the clutch of cold death as combined by a master hand in the field of science-fiction.
Terry Holt, running a mechanical repair business for the fishermen of the Philippines is approached by a young woman called Diedre and offered a job on board the research vessel Experance. Diedre and her father are investigating odd goings on which include one fishing ship returning regularly heavy laden with fish common to the extreme depths with some fish discovered with odd looking spheres attached to their bodies.
Terry is a little put out at not being told the extent of his employer's suspicions, but given the nature of the equipment he is asked to design, and subsequent events, he realises that his employers want him to reach his own conclusions; that a malign nonhuman intelligence is active miles below the ocean in the Luzon Deep.
It's a fairly respectable piece of writing, with an interesting setting and some decently rendered characters. Nothing groundbreaking but entertaining enough.
Terry Holt, running a mechanical repair business for the fishermen of the Philippines is approached by a young woman called Diedre and offered a job on board the research vessel Experance. Diedre and her father are investigating odd goings on which include one fishing ship returning regularly heavy laden with fish common to the extreme depths with some fish discovered with odd looking spheres attached to their bodies.
Terry is a little put out at not being told the extent of his employer's suspicions, but given the nature of the equipment he is asked to design, and subsequent events, he realises that his employers want him to reach his own conclusions; that a malign nonhuman intelligence is active miles below the ocean in the Luzon Deep.
It's a fairly respectable piece of writing, with an interesting setting and some decently rendered characters. Nothing groundbreaking but entertaining enough.
December 31, 2017
In the fifties and sixties the sea was seen as the last frontier… on Earth. The oceans were -and they still are, but less- a world to discover, where the overpopulated humanity could someday live, or at least exploit its resources. This was reflected in popular culture and, of course, in science fiction works. I intend to read three books about this subgenre, and the first one is Creatures of the Abyss (1961).
Please, see full review on the blog: https://girotix.blogspot.com.es/2017/...
En los años cincuenta y sesenta del siglo pasado el mar es visto como la última frontera... de nuestro planeta. Los océanos eran -y aún lo son, pero algo menos- un mundo por descubrir, donde una humanidad con exceso de población podría vivir algún día, o al menos explotar sus recursos. Esto se reflejó en la cultura popular y, por supuesto, en las obras de ciencia ficción de su tiempo. Me he propuesto visitar este tema mediante tres lecturas, la primera de las cuales es la que nos ocupa: Creatures of the Abyss (1961), de Murray Leinster.
Si os apetece, podéis leer la reseña entera en el blog: https://girotix.blogspot.com.es/2017/...
Please, see full review on the blog: https://girotix.blogspot.com.es/2017/...
En los años cincuenta y sesenta del siglo pasado el mar es visto como la última frontera... de nuestro planeta. Los océanos eran -y aún lo son, pero algo menos- un mundo por descubrir, donde una humanidad con exceso de población podría vivir algún día, o al menos explotar sus recursos. Esto se reflejó en la cultura popular y, por supuesto, en las obras de ciencia ficción de su tiempo. Me he propuesto visitar este tema mediante tres lecturas, la primera de las cuales es la que nos ocupa: Creatures of the Abyss (1961), de Murray Leinster.
Si os apetece, podéis leer la reseña entera en el blog: https://girotix.blogspot.com.es/2017/...
March 22, 2015
Electronics expert Terry Holt needs to vacate Manilla while some furore between fishing boat crews dies down so when he gets an offer to spend some paid time on a swanky sailing vessel building some experimental gear he almost jumps at the chance. Almost - because they won't tell him what they're doing or what the kit is for and he's not very happy about that. All he's told is that something mysterious is happening in the Luzon Deep and it's connected to the fishing boat situation.
This is an old-fashioned, science-fiction novella mixing deep sea monsters with strange, outer space mystery and it works pretty well. It is a bit dated as such an isolated situation couldn't really exist today with everyone connected to the Internet. I'm sure they'd have soon had some serious interest from the world's press and U.S. Navy as soon as whispers of this got out but back in the 50s or 60's it's perfectly believable.
It's a bit predictable as you can pretty much guess what the mystery is quickly enough but it's a decent read, reasonably well-paced and with some good old monster action on the high seas.
This is an old-fashioned, science-fiction novella mixing deep sea monsters with strange, outer space mystery and it works pretty well. It is a bit dated as such an isolated situation couldn't really exist today with everyone connected to the Internet. I'm sure they'd have soon had some serious interest from the world's press and U.S. Navy as soon as whispers of this got out but back in the 50s or 60's it's perfectly believable.
It's a bit predictable as you can pretty much guess what the mystery is quickly enough but it's a decent read, reasonably well-paced and with some good old monster action on the high seas.
January 17, 2019
Great science fiction story. Third Murray Leinster story I have listened to. Throughly enjoy his work. Mark Nelson does a wonderful job reading the author's books. They are a perfect match. If you enjoy science fiction you will find a great combo in Leinster and Nelson on Librivox.
February 13, 2025
Murray Leinster, ha percorso la storia della sf fin dagli anni d'oro ed è stato una presenza assidua (e pregevole) tra le pagine di Urania.
Di lui ricordo ancora bene i Gizmo ma poco questa storia di sf suboceanica (il mondo acquatico è un'ottima fonte per le storie speculative, quanto lo spazio), che ho quindi deciso di ripassare.
"Noi umani siamo sempre terrorizzati da strane forme di intelligenza, e se questa non è umana…"
"L'incubo sul fondo" ("Creatures of the Abyss", 1961; Urania Mondadori, 2020; trad. di Annarita Guarnieri), già dal titolo, ci mette in guardia da quello che può stare sott'acqua e, infatti, questa è una canonica storia d'invasione. Ci viene narrato di una spedizione privata che vorrebbe fare luce su pesci abissali ritrovati a profondità insolite e strani congegni legati ai pesci in prossimità della fossa di Luzon. Un mistero da risolvere, come quello degli asteroidi che cadono nella fossa, violando ogni legge statistica. Le ipotesi non mancano ma nessuno osa formularle, in un quasi comico gioco delle parti, perché si sfiora la superstizione folkloristica degli "ellos, che ascoltano ciò che pesci e pescatori dicono" e si rischia la propria credibilità. Finché dalle profondità oceaniche non emergono i mostri giganti, mandati da chi rappresenta il vero pericolo per l'umanità, e si arriva allo scontro frontale.
Di lui ricordo ancora bene i Gizmo ma poco questa storia di sf suboceanica (il mondo acquatico è un'ottima fonte per le storie speculative, quanto lo spazio), che ho quindi deciso di ripassare.
"Noi umani siamo sempre terrorizzati da strane forme di intelligenza, e se questa non è umana…"
"L'incubo sul fondo" ("Creatures of the Abyss", 1961; Urania Mondadori, 2020; trad. di Annarita Guarnieri), già dal titolo, ci mette in guardia da quello che può stare sott'acqua e, infatti, questa è una canonica storia d'invasione. Ci viene narrato di una spedizione privata che vorrebbe fare luce su pesci abissali ritrovati a profondità insolite e strani congegni legati ai pesci in prossimità della fossa di Luzon. Un mistero da risolvere, come quello degli asteroidi che cadono nella fossa, violando ogni legge statistica. Le ipotesi non mancano ma nessuno osa formularle, in un quasi comico gioco delle parti, perché si sfiora la superstizione folkloristica degli "ellos, che ascoltano ciò che pesci e pescatori dicono" e si rischia la propria credibilità. Finché dalle profondità oceaniche non emergono i mostri giganti, mandati da chi rappresenta il vero pericolo per l'umanità, e si arriva allo scontro frontale.
February 18, 2024
What are the odds that a Manila girl aka Manileña obsessed with scifi would be reading this -- a nautical adventure mystery set in the deep waters of the Philippines in 1961? Unfortunately, though, I wouldn't recommend. The writing is subpar with lazy exposition dumping and not so great characters, as well as very inaccurate depiction of the Filipino language... for some reason Murray Leinster thought that Spanish was still the primary language there in the post-WWII era (I guess I'll forgive the ignorance/laziness). And of course, mostly American ex-pats as main characters, who inexplicably come up with crazy theories on what's going on, and turn out to be true *no matter what*, despite them admitting they just pulled them out of their behinds while having no scientific background/basis to take them from. Tries to emulate Jules Verne but ends up being a B-rated Godzilla movie -- all I want are the "creatures" that are disappointingly predictable anyway, even with the 'plot twist'. Too bad since the hard scifi elements are pretty unique.
October 9, 2025
This is not a badly written book, but I found little to no substance in the narrative, aside from the mystery itself and some technical aspects of acoustics and oceanography. The plot is clichéd, the characters are dull, the pace is odd and the pay-off at the end felt rather underwhelming, considering the opening lines already hinted at an underwater civilization of sorts. But other people might like it as another "feel-good-fight-aliens-and-save-the-world" Hollywood-style story.
Not to my taste.
Not to my taste.
September 16, 2024
Like a 3.75 maybe. Surprised me. Very grounded, with a limited scope for a sci fi story. Most of it takes place on a yacht and the characters and conversation felt very real for that older sci fi pulp style. Even the relationship, which is often forced and weird in those older books felt mostly natural. Pretty solid book.
January 21, 2025
It looks like my friend Ralph recommended this to me in 2013. Sorry for taking so long, but I will finish it today, as I am in the last chapter. Yay!
This was probably one of the most yawn-worthy books I have read in a long time, yet it didn't help me go to sleep. I kept hoping the story would get more exciting, but it didn't.
Still, it could just be me. Check out the blurbs and comments. Many were quite positive. Well, at least I gave it a chance. It wasn't horrid.
This was probably one of the most yawn-worthy books I have read in a long time, yet it didn't help me go to sleep. I kept hoping the story would get more exciting, but it didn't.
Still, it could just be me. Check out the blurbs and comments. Many were quite positive. Well, at least I gave it a chance. It wasn't horrid.
May 3, 2023
Sfilò camicia e pantaloni e si tuffò.
June 4, 2023
Pure classic Leinster! A great tale and a whale of a mystery!
September 16, 2023
Starinski pisano, loš prijevod - šteta. Ipak je bilo zanimljivo čitati stari sf. Da je bar pisac malo više razvijao ideje a ne ostavio čitatelju na maštu.
October 24, 2023
3 1/2 stars
July 18, 2025
Divorato in una giornata
September 30, 2018
A big, meh for this one.
July 11, 2019
Another book that can easily be found in audio format on Librivox and YouTube, Creatures of the Abyss (also known as The Listeners), by Murray Leinster, is a slow mid 20th century sci-fi that reads as a cross between Jules Verne, H. P. Lovecraft and one of those books about people drinking and falling in love on boats in South America. More Verne, though.
The thing that made me continue listening to it was its way of depicting the mentality from back then. Written in 1961, it tells a story of people who, faced with extraordinary circumstances, first evade formulating a theory in their own head, for fear of contravening their own set view of the world, then - forced by events - they do allow themselves to formulate a theory, but keep it to themselves for fear of ridicule, even when they see other people considering the same things, then they proceed to test those theories by themselves and only then share them with others. Compared with the modern culture of sharing half formed thoughts before they can constitute complete phrases, it is quite different. It is also fun to read about people that think Venus is a large ocean planet, as is Jupiter, with a gravity four times that of Earth.
However, while it was interesting in a sociological way and good as a background for other activities, its slow pace might feel excruciating for the casual reader. More than half of it is more about boats and sailing and catching fish. The science fiction part is slowly creeping into the story and the climax is in the last chapter alone. Maybe my association of the book with Lovecraft is strained, as the only commonality is touching on tentacled abyssal creatures that might appear disturbing to human sensibilities and certainly the elements of horror are very rare in Creatures of the Abyss. The book does feel more real, though, as it goes through this slow process of examination of evidence and formulating hypotheses and testing them before jumping to conclusions. It depicts the beginning of the modern era of scientific thought, back when it was respectable and desirable to be thinking like that.
Bottom line: Slow paced, but very well written, you should at least try it, since it is so readily available. You can even listen to it right here, on this post.
The thing that made me continue listening to it was its way of depicting the mentality from back then. Written in 1961, it tells a story of people who, faced with extraordinary circumstances, first evade formulating a theory in their own head, for fear of contravening their own set view of the world, then - forced by events - they do allow themselves to formulate a theory, but keep it to themselves for fear of ridicule, even when they see other people considering the same things, then they proceed to test those theories by themselves and only then share them with others. Compared with the modern culture of sharing half formed thoughts before they can constitute complete phrases, it is quite different. It is also fun to read about people that think Venus is a large ocean planet, as is Jupiter, with a gravity four times that of Earth.
However, while it was interesting in a sociological way and good as a background for other activities, its slow pace might feel excruciating for the casual reader. More than half of it is more about boats and sailing and catching fish. The science fiction part is slowly creeping into the story and the climax is in the last chapter alone. Maybe my association of the book with Lovecraft is strained, as the only commonality is touching on tentacled abyssal creatures that might appear disturbing to human sensibilities and certainly the elements of horror are very rare in Creatures of the Abyss. The book does feel more real, though, as it goes through this slow process of examination of evidence and formulating hypotheses and testing them before jumping to conclusions. It depicts the beginning of the modern era of scientific thought, back when it was respectable and desirable to be thinking like that.
Bottom line: Slow paced, but very well written, you should at least try it, since it is so readily available. You can even listen to it right here, on this post.
December 3, 2020
This is my first Leinster novel, and I picked it because I have a fondness for John Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes. And this, I would say, reads like an American version of that story, or if you like this could be another encounter with the same alien creatures, never seen, who land in the deepest parts of the oceans and are slowly noticed by the changes they are making to our environment. Now, The Kraken Wakes is quite dated, but still gives us a really unusual menacing 'slow' alien invasion story. This book is more upbeat, a sort of cheap and cheerful version of that, and although similarly dated now its still entertaining enough, I would recommend this particularly if you have read and enjoyed The Kraken Wakes, if as nothing more than an oddity - you might almost say its an unofficial copy of the story, (or you might very well think that if you're a fan of Wyndham). I didn't spot when it was written, compared to when Kraken was published, but there are very many plot similarities. Still, THAT'S why I enjoyed it - enough to try other Leinster books.
November 5, 2015
First off all, the Librivox narration was done absolutely perfectly. The narrator there did a better job than most audible and tantor narrators. I was super happy to listen to him tell me this story.
The story had this. It also had mind controlling aliens from both Venus and Jupiter to order the giant squid around. You didn't get to meet the aliens though. :(
Overall, it was a damn fine little sci-fi/naval story that I enjoyed listening to.
The story had this. It also had mind controlling aliens from both Venus and Jupiter to order the giant squid around. You didn't get to meet the aliens though. :(
Overall, it was a damn fine little sci-fi/naval story that I enjoyed listening to.
November 2, 2020
Volevo fare un bel tuffo (in tutti i sensi, visto il titolo) nella fantascienza. Ma il libro purtroppo è stato al di sotto delle aspettative.
L'ambientazione esotica nelle Filippine, la minaccia dai fondali, gli strani fenomeni naturali: erano molti sulla carta gli elementi interessanti in questo romanzo di Leinster, ma non sono mai riuscito ad appassionarmi realmente alla vicenda o a legarmi ai personaggi, un po' piatti e stereotipati.
Un libro datato e freddino, che non colpisce più di tanto. Peccato!
L'ambientazione esotica nelle Filippine, la minaccia dai fondali, gli strani fenomeni naturali: erano molti sulla carta gli elementi interessanti in questo romanzo di Leinster, ma non sono mai riuscito ad appassionarmi realmente alla vicenda o a legarmi ai personaggi, un po' piatti e stereotipati.
Un libro datato e freddino, che non colpisce più di tanto. Peccato!
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